13th June 2018 – Aberdeen Trades Union Council Visit
2018 is the 150th anniversary of the Aberdeen Trades Union Council https://aberdeentuc.blogspot.com/
Aberdeen Trades Union Council is the body made up of affiliated trade union branches and organisations in the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire area. The Council acts to promote the interests of affiliated organisations and to secure united action on issues of interest. The Council also supports the work of any partner organisations where they share the same objectives to improve the economic and social conditions of working people (including social services, public education, housing and health).
Members of the Council Executive Committee and union delegates attended a talk and display (see here: Aberdeen Trades Union Council 150th Anniversary)
18th June 2018 – Royal Collection Visit
On 18 July, Museums & Special Collections was pleased to host a visiting party from the Royal Collection. Jenny Foot, Sophie Gordon and Paul Stonell were visiting ahead of a planned exhibition of photographic material in the Gallery. The group was shown a number of treasures from the special collections of archives and printed books, including the Aberdeen Breviary and other items which had been viewed by HM the Queen at the official opening of The Sir Duncan Rice Library in September 2012.
28th June 2018 – Display for EU and UN delegation visit hosted by Professor Marcel Jaspars
A number of printed items from Museums & Special Collections and the King’s Stack, including a copy of Hugo Grotius’s Mare liberum (1633) from the library of Aberdeen’s former Professor of Civil Law David Daube, and select volumes on the Siboga expedition (1899-1900), were displayed to a delegation from the EU and UN on 28 June. The event was hosted by Professor Marcel Jaspars, Chair of Chemistry. The exhibition, which was held in the Craig Suite, drew over 20 visitors.
28th June 2018 – Euclid Collections Close-Up
Members of the public were given the opportunity to see rare copies of Euclid’s ‘Elements’ held by Special Collections at the “Euclidean Collections Close Up” event on Thursday 28th June. This included a copy of the first printed edition of the Elements from 1482 and a beautiful copy of the first edition of Elements to be printed in English in 1570 (see above image). A facsimile display on the lower ground floor of the Sir Duncan Rice Library was also prepared as part of the Oxford University ‘Reading Euclid’ project (www.readingeuclid.org/).
More information about the volumes on display can be found here: Euclidean Collections Close Up
10th July 2018 – Special Collections Tour
On 10 July, Keith O’Sullivan, Senior Rare Books Librarian, gave a tour of the Special Collections Centre for visitors hosted by the Development Trust. Mr & Mrs Douglas Craig (Craig Group) and Mr & Mrs Trevor Rowe (Rothschild Australia) were accompanied by Professor Neva Haites. The party were shown selected collections in Store 2 as well as a number of treasures including the Deed of Protection for staff and students of King’s College signed by Mary Queen of Scots (1562) KINGS/4/4/1.
8th September 2018 – Doors Open Day
Museums and Special Collections welcomed a large number of visitors to its doors open day event including around 100 visitors to the Special Collections Centre in the morning to view a selection of illustrated books (see here: Doors Open Day 2018 display). Staff Jane Pirie, Michelle Gait and Jan Smith were on hand to discuss the material on display while the NHS Archivist Fiona Musk presented some of the wonderful medical records from the NHS Grampian Archives.
In addition, a record 1621 people visited the Zoology Museum lower gallery on Saturday while on Sunday 9th the Scottish Wildlife Day with TechFest at the Zoology Museum attracted 408 visitors.
Additional events
Paul Logie attended the Archives & Records Association annual conference in Glasgow on the 30th August at the Grand Central Hotel (ARA Conference, 29th-31st August, ‘People Make Records’).
Michelle Gait attended the Rare Books Conference in Cambridge from the 5th-7th September.
Jane Pirie attended a book furniture course at the British Library on the 18th September delivered by Charlotte Howsam, David Pearson and Maickel van Bellegem.
UoA Collections 